Let’s begin with a little bit of some business cleaning up we have to do. First off, the trade that sent Zach Senyshyn to the Ottawa Senators is now closed. The deal (Senyshyn plus the Bruins 5th round pick in 2022 for Josh Brown and a conditional 7th round pick) was for a 7th round pick that would upgrade to a 6th round pick should Senyshyn play in 5 games for the Sens before the end of the 2021-22 regular season. Senyshyn would play in two games so the pick is now officially a 7th round pick. The Bruins have picks in the 2nd, 3rd (from Calgary Flames) 4th and 6th rounds and two picks in the 7th round.
For two of our USHL prospects, Andre Gasseau and Mason Langenbrunner, their season came to an end as they were swept in their best-of-three series against the Omaha Lancers. For Gasseau, he played hard in both games and gave 100 percent. He will be heading to Boston College for next season. Langenbrunner missed both playoff games with an injury after a solid regular season. He will be heading to Harvard next season.
Our final USHL prospect, Philip Svedeback and his Dubuque Fighting Saints had a bye in round one. Their second-round series – also a best of three – got underway on Friday against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on the road and it was not the start anyone wanted. Svedeback gave up 2 goals on 8 shots in the first period and did not come out for the second period. Dubuque evened things up quickly just over 5 minutes into the second frame but ultimately fell 4-3.
On Sunday, Svedeback did not dress with an undisclosed injury he suffered in game one. Dubuque lost 8-5 and are eliminated from the playoffs losing 2-0 in the best-of-three. He will be heading to Providence College for next season.
Our two OHL prospects began the week off on the right foot. Brett Harrison and his Oshawa Generals trailed the Kingston Frontenacs two-games-to-none when the series shifted to Oshawa on Tuesday evening. Trailing 3-1 in game three, Harrison started the comeback with a goal and then helped set up the winner with just 8 seconds remaining.
However, on Thursday, despite Harrison registering his third goal and fifth point of the playoffs, the Generals fell 6-2 and faced elimination as the two teams met back in Kingston on Saturday.
On Saturday, Harrison helped set up the game winning goal and then scored the insurance goal to help Oshawa stay alive with a 3-1 victory in Kingston and head home for game six on Sunday feeling good about themselves. To this point, Harrison has at least 1 point in each of his 5 playoff games with 4 goals and 3 assists and going back to the regular season has 6 goals and 6 assists in his last 7 games.
On Sunday, Harrison came out with a bang in the first trying to spark his team throwing 3 big hits and continued to use his body throughout the game. Down 4-1 with 8 minutes left in the third, Oshawa mounted a comeback and tied the game with 1.5 seconds remaining. They could have used some Harrison offence in overtime but it was Kingston that prevailed and eliminated the Generals. Harrison did set up plenty of chances and had his own chances, but they just wouldn’t find the back of the net. All in all, it was an excellent series for him.
With his season over, there is a small opportunity for him to sign his contract and join the Providence Bruins. I would think if Providence had some regular season games remaining, the possibility was high, but since they are in the playoffs, those chances drop significantly. But anything is possible.
For Ryan Mast and the Sarnia Sting, their finish on Tuesday wasn’t as dramatic as Oshawa’s. Trailing the Windsor Spitfires two-games-to-none, the series shifted to Sarnia where the Sting pulled out a 5-2 victory. Mast picked up his first career playoff point with a helper on the night.
On Thursday, the Sting dropped a 4-1 decision at home and Windsor took a 3-1 series lead back home for a Saturday night tilt.
On Saturday, the Sting went into Windsor and upset the Spitfires 3-2 in overtime and now head home to Sarnia for game 6 on Sunday with hopes of evening the series at 3 games each. Despite an assist by Mast, he lost coverage on the powerplay that allowed Windsor to tie the game and send it to overtime. It was his only blunder in a near perfect game for him.
On Sunday, the Spitfires took the game 3-1 and the series 4 games to two and Mast’s season comes to an end. Mast and Sarnia did much better than most thought they would, limiting the Spitfires high powered offence. Sunday was not Mast’s best game but he had a good series.
Like Harrison, Mast could sign and join the Providence Bruins. My opinion is he’s just not ready for professional playoff hockey, but he’s on his way.
Over in the WHL Fabian Lysell has been a one-man offence for the Vancouver Giants. With the series tied at 1 game apiece, as the Giants headed home for games 3 and 4. On Wednesday, Lysell had a goal and an assist but the Everett Silvertips came out on top 6-2 to take a 2-1 series lead. Through these first three games, Lysell has been in on 8 of Vancouver’s 10 goals.
Friday saw an explosion of offence as the Giants evened the series at two games when they outscored Everett 11-6. Lysell didn’t need to be in on 80% of the goals on this night but he did score twice, his second and third goals of the series. His 3 goals and 7 assists has him tied for third in the WHL playoff scoring race.
On Saturday, Lysell added another goal to increase his point total to 11 in 5 games as the Giants went into Everett and take game 5 by a 3-0 score and take a 3-2 series lead and head home for game 6 on Monday with hopes of closing out the series and upsetting the top seeded Silvertips.
Providence Bruins Player Stats
Providence Bruins Goalie Stats
Maine Mariners Stats
Coming up this week:
Lysell will play game 6 tonight (Monday) at home versus Everett. If a game 7 is necessary, that goes Wednesday in Everett.
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Dom - Hockey 